Promoted Dunipace hoping to bow out of East of Scotland leagues with cup success
Danny Smith is hoping that his Dunipace history makers can round off a promotion-winning season with a cup success.
The DCL Westfield side, who will play in the new Lowland League East next season, round off this term when they take on Hill of Beath Hawthorn in Blackburn for the RJM Sports League Cup at 2pm on Sunday.
The ‘Pace reached the league cup final back in the summer of 2023 but lost out 4-0 to Bo’ness Athletic. Since then, cup runs have been few and far between for the club.
"We are enjoying our success but things now turn to preparing for next season after our cup final,” Smith said. “And we’d love to win a cup competition to round things off, I’ve said so many times that our cup runs haven’t been good enough for a wee while now so it would be nice to go all the way.
“The teams we are going to be playing next season, it is going to be brilliant for everyone involved. We’ll have some cracking away days to the likes of Brechin and of course so many local games and clubs to welcome to our place. Selfishly, going back to Linlithgow for me is huge. To my take my Dunipace team there for a league match against the champions, a club I know so well, is a dream come true.
“We have a young group but I know that they will bring something to the Lowland League. It can become their level for sure. I am not underestimating the challenge of playing a full season against top teams however. We need to get things right in terms of recruitment.”
The ‘Pace gained promotion to the fifth tier by finishing third in the Premier Division after Edinburgh City won the pyramid play-off. Smith’s side ended off being only two points off champions Hill of Beath.
And the boss reckons that going up just after reconstruction was crucial: “It was something that I always had my eye on (going up). But to actually do it is quite something – I was emotional the other weekend when it happened. It was a different feeling too waiting on another team to do you a favour. But none of that matters now the main thing is Dunipace are in the Lowland League East.
“I felt it was very important to get up this season. Because I think it will only get harder and harder. This was the time to do it. I don’t think I realised that until the achievement started to sink in over the past week or so.”